The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela celebrated its 204th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence from Spain on Sunday, July 5.

In Saint Lucia, the Venezuelan Embassy and the Government of Saint Lucia collaborated to commemorate the occasion with a wreath laying ceremony at Place Bideau, in the Castries city centre, on July 8.

The ceremony was attended by several dignitaries, including Her Excellency Leiff Escalona, the Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to Saint Lucia; Deputy to the Governor General, Mr. MacDonald Dixon; and Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Affairs, Planning and Social Security, Hon. Dr. Kenny D. Anthony.

An untold number of Saint Lucians fought in the Venezuelan revolution. One such, Jean Baptiste Bideau, was an advisor to Venezuelan leader Simon Bolivar. Both are memorialized at Place Bideau.

Prime Minister Anthony spoke at length of the contribution made by Bideau to the revolution, and also pointed out that more than 200 years after the landmark Venezuelan declaration, the hope of true independence in the region is as yet unfulfilled.

“The struggle is not over when so many of our people still live in poverty – or just barely out of poverty, so much so that they could easily fall back in with any minor [occurence], be it natural or otherwise. The struggle is not over if we still face serious health crises . . . and people cannot afford or access life-saving healthcare. The struggle is not over if our children cannot receive an education . . . if our countries are mired in debt; if our countries cannot feed their citizens.

“The struggle is not over if race and gender and class discrimination persist, [and] if our countries are treated as second-class states in global affairs.”

Saint Lucia is among the six sovereign member nations of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States who are also members of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America (ALBA). One of the organization’s goals is to deepen integration and cooperation between the Caribbean and Latin America.